Humpity Hump Dayyy!

HUMP DAYEEEE! I love that camel. I don't care if it's played out. I do what I want! Today I'm linking up with Vodka and Soda for Humpday Confessions because everyone else is doing it and I feel left out dammit!

I'm probably doing it all wrong. Oh well. I tried.

My confessions will be all over the place, just go with it mmmkay?

Once it hits 3:30 at work, I'm preeeetty much guarenteed to not do much else for the rest of the work day. I mean, if my boss passes me, of course I'm gonna look super busy, but I'm mentally clocked out. My job can be stressful sometimes, but I get most everything done by 2:30 or so, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna file old paperwork for the rest of the day..unless my boss wants me to fall asleep under my desk...just sayin.

I'm a nazi about the kitchen and bathroom being clean, but everything else is fairrr game. I give zero fucks about the living room and bedroom being clean and it drives Leon crazy. I've received many a text message from my beloved boyfriend about my shit being errywhere and I'm terribly embarassed.... #not. I really do mean to clean up after myself, but then I'm in a rush aaaand yea it's a tornado when Leon get's home and I'm sitting on the couch like...

I'm workin on it ok?

I may or may not have just eaten a large amount of pretzels. I need to do better planning out my meals during the day because I got home and was RAVENOUS. We're planning to go out on a double date in a bit with some friends so I held out on my usual afternoon snack, but obviously that shit didn't work because I got home with some intense tunnel vision/bee-lining for the cabinets. At least I already took a look at the menu for the restaurant and planned what I'm gonna eat/my macros. Back to the drawing board tomorrow. I looked like this guy when I came in. I also just laughed for a solid five minutes.

That's allllll folks. Date night time!

-Crystal

Get. It. Together.

I posted about this on my Instagram yesterday, but I figured I'd touch on it again here too. As of late, my food-ness has been a bit of a shit fest and it's super frustrating to me. I know slip ups are fine and apart of the journey as long as you bounce back, but lately I feel like I'm getting back in the mindset I had when I was still big. I ate when I was happy, ate when I was bored, really ate just to eat. I was so proud of myself for getting out of that mindset finally, and I had learned to treat myself with new clothes, mani/pedis, a trip to Target... but that's another story for another time when I feel like discussing my debt. Anywho, for the past 2 weeks I've been a binge machine. I'll do well all day, come home and workout, and then use the "I just worked out" excuse for chowin down on chips and salsa. Like, what the fuck Crystal? Seriously? Yes, chips and salsa are magical and delicious, but that is out of control girlfriend. I guess my scale felt bad for me losing my shit temporarily, because it only went up 1 pound since last week...no complaints here, considering the absurd amount of disgust I've been eating.

I can't even blame this one on moving in with Leon, because Lord knows my mom and brother ate complete garbage too. So to escape my excuses, I've not only meal prepped my meals, I prepped all of my snacks too so I have no excuse as to why I'm not eating something healthy. That's just a portion of the goodness for the week.

On a good note, Hell No Froyo July is coming to a close, and ya girl did so well! Not oneeee bite of froyo. Not sure I can handle myself in there still, so it might continue into August.. I think I might have to add Chips and Salsa to that list... yea definitely.

Couple little updates on the apartment as well!
 1. We most definitely have a crazy old lady as a neighbor. She gives us dirty looks/slams her door when she sees us coming and then speaks politely to Leon the next day. Uhhh ok? And she leaves her door wide open while she's sitting inside (or not). There's not really a hallway, it's more of come in and go straight to your door/go upstairs straight to your door...t's just awkward. So in short, she's a treat.
 2. We found a little Hispanic Market store across the street that looked pretty sketchy upon first glance, but last night we wandered over to check it out and its SO. GREAT. Not many people speak English in there, but uhhh money is money. So much fresh produce and its all so cheap!!! Our new fav store.
 3. Yesterday we went to Goodwill to browse around, and I found this great artwork to hang above our little table! $10 hollaaaaa!

4. It's also very weird that we went to my mom's house for dinner last night. Like, no longer my house. Odd. Speaking of my mom, she's decided to get healthy and she just hired a personal trainer and asked me to help with meal prepping/ideas and I'm so freakin proud of her. New motivation = found. Can't have my mom showin me up.

What's goin on in Bloggy World? I feel like everyone is on vaca...

-Crystal

Lincoln Memorial Workout!

By tomorrow, I actually meant 2 days later. Ya see, I really have every intention of blogging when I say I will, but then I get in bed, get all comfy, and I'm like, "shit. forgot to blog...uhhhh yea going to sleep". But here I am, at 7:15 am, blogging before work.

As promised, here is my recap of my Lincoln Memorial Bootcamp workout! A while ago I told you guys about the bootcamp at my gym where I met Maria (found out her name!), who I have a serious girl crush on, because she has a siiiiick body. Well, turns out she owns her own strength and conditioning class, called Forza Strength and Conditioning. If you live in NOVA/DC, look that ish up on facebook.

So I parked at Arlington Cemetery and met her and 4 other girls at the Memorial Bridge, and I thought we would just jog across to warm up. Nope. Incorrect. We jogged, jogged with high knees, ran backwards, did side steps, and sprinted the last bit of the bridge. Needless to say, I was sweating like a pig when we got to the stairs in front of the Lincoln Memorial. This is just the end of the bridge. You can't even see the other side. It was forever long. Sweet Lord.

From there we got right to it. We jogged down the stairs and sprinted up, jogged down sprinted up skipping stairs, squat jumps up the stairs, hopscotch jumps up the stairs, tricep dips, pushups....so much. I wish I had my freakin heart rate monitor, but I know I burned at least 800-900 calories. It was so so hard, but so worth it. I even had a moment where I thought I would throw up, and that never happens. Cute, right? I know.

Death Stairs.

I also had a bit of a "hmm, I guess I'm kinda athletic" moment during the workout. Among the other 4 girls, 3 of them were at least 20-25 pounds smaller than me. But when we did sprints, squat jumps up the stairs, pushups, and just about anything else, I easily outdid them, and it blew my freakin mind. I would look back after sprints and no one was near me, and I would honestly think to myself, "well maybe they don't know what a sprint is.." I'm NOT saying this to toot my own horn, because Lord knows I have a lot work to do. I'm saying this because it really showed me that the number on the scale is a tool, nothing more. It doesn't define my athletic ability, and it doesn't define others' athletic ability. They could very well have been not trying as hard as I was, because they're already pretty small, who knows. It felt nice to be good at something for once, instead of hiding in the back hoping that no one would see me struggling and not succeeding. I'll definitely go back I think. The classes are pretty cheap and it was a solid workout.

View at the end of the workout. Not bad, I must say.

Have you ever had a "holy shit I'm athletic" moment?

Tiny Ass Kitchen for Delicious Cookies

Sup suckaaaaas. That was rude. Terribly sorry for that.

So I did my first meal prep this past weekend and Lord have mercy on my soul, I realized just how FREAKIN tiny our new kitchen is.

Yep you've basically seen the whole kitchen now. There's one more little counter on the other side of the stove, but that's it. I mean, I do like it. Mostly because it's ours and I can walk around without pants on while I cook. But goodness gracious this whole only 3 counters thing is not the business. It does make it better that we have a bomb ass table from IKEA that fits most of my meal prep junk when necessary, but still. I'm also still trying to do the whole eating healthy with a boyfriend who most certainly doesn't eat healthy unless forced. I've learned though, that men will eat anything within reason. So I'm suckin it up and making dinner most nights so I can make sure it's compliant with my macros.

Any tips from you guys that cook for whole families/husbands/wives/dogs/friends? 

I made cookies last night. They were delicious. I posted them on my Instagram aaaand I just love them a lot. They're from The Minimalist Baker's Website and you should go make them NOW. I subbed out a bunch of ingredients based on what I had in my kitchen and it still turned out pretty freakin delicious. Just for shits n giggles, my substitutions included...

*coconut oil instead of olive oil

*3 tbsp. sugar instead of agave nectar/honey

*added smashed up almonds cuz I like that shit

*peanut butter instead of almond butter

*whole wheat flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour

*quick oats instead of rolled oats

I think that's all? You can tell we just moved in and have next to nothing in the kitchen. Whatever, still tasted delicious.

Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you allllll about my horrible kickass workout in front of the Lincoln Memorial! I just want to gauge my level of soreness. Weird, I know.

Leave me links to your fav treat recipes! 

-Crystal

Exploring a Bit..

We're trying to settle in to our apartment, and hopefully a bit of a routine, but for now I'm just trying to make sure I get my workouts and healthy food in. I didn't realize just how stressful moving can be. Ugh, my life.

Yesterday evening I had plans to go to my new gym and check it out, just so I wasn't walking around like a dumbass during my first workout. My gym I go to now was bought out by Gold's Gym, as was this new gym that I'll be going to, so I don't have to pay anything extra, which is suuuuper! The gym is only 2 miles from our apartment (it's so weird saying our, I keep wanting to say my) so I figured I should run it to see if that's something I want to do whenever I go.

This was before I found all of the goddamn hills in Arlington. Sweet lawd there are some STEEP hills. The good news is that the hills were not hard at all. I credit this to the ridiculous sprint exercises I've been doing. They definitely boost my endurance and I'm all about that. 

Totes not used to running in the city.

The only bad thing was that I feel like my running shoes aren't working out.. which is awkward because I haven't even had them for a year. Ya see, I bought these AMAZING Brooks shoes when I first started to lose weight, and once I lost around 55 pounds I needed new ones so I assumed that I should get the same shoes again. Wrong. I failed to realize that maybe my stride had changed after losing weight, and now my feet kill when I run, even though they're the same brand, same model. Looks like I need to get sized and all that jazz alllll over again. 

Moving on to the gym. I was gonna take pictures and be a real blogger, but guess what? It's actually creepy to stand in a gym where people are working out and take obvious pictures like I'm so sort of secret shopper. I wasn't impressed. It's pretty much cardio on one side, which looked like all new equipment, and then the weight room side, which looked like it hadn't seen new equipment in YEARS. Only 3 benches near the free weights. Da fuck? It just looks raggedy and I'm not happy about it..le sigh. The aerobic room is TINY. Not sure how they fit a lot of people in there..or maybe they don't? 

I'm sure I'm complaining more than usual because I really don't want to switch gyms. I hope I grow to like it, because driving 20 minutes opposed to running 2 miles is NOT the business.

Later gators

-Crystal

We Moved! And Gym Separation Anxiety.

The boyfriend and I have finally moved! I feel like it's taken forever, but these last couple weeks have flown by. Our apartment is the perfect size for us, and we're very happy. I'll have pictures once we're settled, but for now it's lookin like a hot ass mess. Leon is done unpacking all of his stuff, but of course, I'm nowhere close to being done. I got rid of a LOT of clothes, but I still have so many and I don't understand where it all came from... So many sorority shirts and so many workout shirts. And so many damn socks? Weird. And a lot of underwear too, even though I feel like I wear the same 5 over and over again. CLEAN of course, I do a lot of laundry with the workin out an all...You get the gist. There's just a lot of shit everywhere. The only clean parts are the bathroom and living room. Pathetic.

We spent an hour in Target today, bickering over colors of towels. Is this what it's like to be married? Probably. So, I like bright colors. Spring green, yellow, and bright blue keep me happy and off the edge of the cliff. And there here comes Leon with, "Well my favorite colors are black and grey...sooo...." Insert reaction..

Needless to say, our bathroom towels are bright blue, with yellow as an accent. I let his ugly black towels be the  guest towels, so I'd say it's a fair trade. 

In other news, it's about that time for me to switch gyms and I am freaking the fuck out. My current Gold's Gym is juuuust far enough away to annoy me and there's another Gold's only 2 miles away, so it just makes sense for me to switch. It's just weird ya know? This is the place where I began to change. I did my first squat in this gym. I was told by a personal trainer that I couldn't do a pushup and I probably never would (unless I hired her of course..bitch.) in this gym. I squatted 160 lbs. in this gym. I've grown close to a number of people and the instructors here, and it's like home. I guess it's kind of like going to a new school. Sure the folks may be nice at the new gym, but I don't know those hooligans, and I'm gonna miss my people. The people who know my name and know my journey and who call me out when I don't show up to body pump. You better believe I'll be back for Sunday body pump and Thursday bootcamp though. Sorry, not giving those up for anything.

Good news is, two of my favorite instructors teach at my new gym as well! One, Jessie, teaches kickboxing and has been there from the beginning of my journey. Unfortunately I could no longer make her class since I started full time work, but I was able to go back today since I took the day off for moving, and I swear to 6 pound 3 oz. baby Jesus, I've never been happier to sweat in my life. She gave me the biggest hug and said she missed me, so we caught up and it felt like time had never passed. I fell right into routine with my old friends in the class and loved every second of not being able to breathe while doing an absurd amount of kicks, jumping jacks, jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. I wanted a picture with her, buuuut that's creepy so I didn't do that..

Other good news! Remember when I mentioned the girl with a craaazy sick body in the bootcamp class? Well I saw her the other day and she mentioned that she teaches an outdoor fitness class near my apartment! So ya girl has a new place to workout on TOP of the gym! Can we say two-a-days? Yes, we can.

Anybody felt depressed leaving their gym? No? Just me? Cool. 

-Crystal

Half Marathon Tiiiime

Have I mentioned that I'm doing another half marathon? I have. So training for this little gem starts next week and I'm a bit on the nervous side. For one, I'm now running it alone. I think I'm ok with that, it'll just be the first time doing so. My sisters backed out of it, which is completely understandable since they're new runners. Nonetheless, it's thrown me off a little. Also, I know you're not supposed to compare yourself to people with these things, but my friend Becca has kept up her running since our first half, and girlfriend casually runs 10 miles every Saturday.

I'm sorry, WHAT? I mean, I know I could, if someone wanted to find my corpse on the side of a running trail from me not finishing, (runners ALWAYS find the dead bodies in Law & Order..) but I'd rather not die. I honestly haven't run more than 4 miles at a time since then, since I've been focusing more on strength training, which is going super well.

Dem armsssss. And by arms, I mean, baby biceps. Ugh, life.

I'm going to run 6 miles tomorrow morning to assess how far gone my running-ness is. I don't expect to be as fast as my training from last time, because well, Becca runs faster than me. Last year when we trained together on long runs, I was just trying to keep up with her! This time I do want to get faster, so I've been doing sprints more often, but there's only so much you can increase your stride when you're barely 5'4. Just sayin. My time last go round was 2:42, and I know Mile 11-13 is what killed me, so I'm hoping now that I know where my breaking point is, that I can train past mile 10 so I'm more prepared.

I'm going with Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Novice 2 plan since I'm still a pretty new runner that has no fuckin clue what I'm doing, ya know, besides the whole putting one foot in front of the other thing...and even that is questionable. Last year I most definitely tripped and fell mid run...on a busy street..with lots of cars to witness the tragedy. But that doesn't count in my book because pics or it didn't happen.

Also debating getting a Garmin Forerunner watch because I figure if I'm doing a second half that I actually like this shit, and I'll be doing it more often. Honestly, I like the feeling of finishing best..that's what she said. Sorry couldn't resist. Knowing that I did that shit all on my own with absolutely no physical help and that I ran those 13.1 miles myself and that I can take pride in that because not everyone can do it.....is the best feeling. Also because I used to be fat and not a runner AT ALL.

Throwin it back to my first ever race. The color run!

My boobs have shrank. so. much. I was a 42 DDD and now I'm a 36 D. WHAT.

Also I took this picture the other day and I'm not even gonna lie, I just want to know if I'm lookin at back fat or if a teeeensy bit of muscle is starting to happen. Just tell me the truth people.

So. Does any one have a garmin forerunner? Love it? Hate it? Any other half marathon training you guys recommend? Help a sister out.

-Crystal

That time my dog wet the bed..

Hey so you know how little kids wet the bed when they're scared?

Well, my dog peed in my bed. I'm just as shocked as you are. You know when puppies get that burst of energy and just run at full speed around the house? Tiger does that often. It looks a bit like this, except shes smaller and she runs in circles.

Anywho, it was storming really bad and unlike most dogs that hide, Tiger gets this absurd burst of energy mixed with a bit of fear. So after she finished her laps, she ran and jumped on my bed and wouldn't leave. I didn't think anything of it because she is most often acting like a freak of nature anyways. Couple hours later I'm going to bed and tell Tiger to get in bed, and the little turd will not lay down. She's pacing all over the spot she usually lays on and eventually she jumps off the bed and lays on the floor. So at this point I'm thinking she's just being overdramatic about not wanting to sleep in her spot, so I scooted over for her to lay on the other side.

Cue disgust. I scoot into a wet spot and immediately jump up and look at my water on my desk. Hmm. Water is on desk, and is still full so I didn't spill that. Sniff test becomes necessary.

IT WAS PEE. IN MY BED. And the little shit is sitting on the floor waggin her tail at me. I feel like this is how parents feel when their kids are assholes but they still have to love them anyways. It's fine, casually scrubbing my mattress that I haven't even had for a year with rubbing alcohol and water.

Anyone have any ideas as to how to get dog pee smell out of fabric? This is not ok. 

And I still let her sleep in my bed that night. Because I clearly am a pushover. Lordy.

-Crystal

July 4th weekend!

I hope everyone had a superb weekend celebrating 'Merica; I know I did. And by I did, I mean I didn't have to go to work on Friday and I ate pretty much everything in sight because I have zero self control... I'm workin on it. At least I worked out pretty hard on Friday, am I right or am I right?

I did my 3.1 miles for the Flex It Pink virtual 5k and then worked my shoulders. The AC in my gym most definitely was not working, because I was drenched in sweat and frightening the man on the treadmill next to me. Some sweat may have flown onto the screen of his machine....woops, sorry bro.

After the gym, the boyfriend and I went into DC to a friend's apartment to watch fireworks from her rooftop! She has amazing views of The Capitol and Washington Monument, so we enjoyed the show without all the touristy crowds and craziness. I didn't get any pictures of the fireworks, because iphone firework pictures are just...no. But I did get some photos of me and the lover boy!

The next day I went to the beloved IKEA with my mom and bought a bunch of goodies for the apartment. Leon managed to get out of shopping with us, claiming that he'd like anything I picked. Good answer, dear. We got the cuuuutest little table that has end leafs that fold up/down if necessary.

Hellooooo lovaaaa. 

It looks like a doll house table in the picture, but I promise it's bigger in person. Chairs to match, 18 piece dining set (in spring green OF COURSE), some jars for baking goods, and other random shit that's necessary for apartment livin laterrr, I was a happy woman. I ended the weekend with Leon making me dinner and going out for froyo, which led to my decision to go froyo free for the rest of the month. I've been using froyo as my weekly cheat, which is perfectly fine, as I believe in everything in moderation. 

However, lately I feel like I've been overboard with the toppings there. Like, no way all that shit fits in my macros and no way this shit is a healthy amount of calories. Because I know that I haven't completely learned self control when it comes to my all time favorite foods, I'm cutting it out until I get my shit together. So as of now, no popcorn unless it's in a single serve bag, and no froyo until further notice. I'm so glad I have a supportive boyfriend who completely understands how I feel when I get all crazy about foods. I told him, "do you think we can slow down on the froyo? And by slow down I mean cut that shit out?" and he said, "I only eat there because you like it so much, so if you don't wanna go, we don't have to go" I told him I need him to be firm with me if I'm insisting on some froyo and he said our conversations from now on will consist of, "froyo?" "hell no." We thought it was cute...whatever.

How were your weekends? Do you have any trigger foods that you've had to cut out temporarily?

Friday Five!

I know one of these bloggers around here does a Friday Five linkup..just need to remember/find which one. I really like link ups a lot, so ya know, if you see a really funny or different one, let a sista know. So Friday Five, here's mine because I do random well, mmmmkay?

1. For the #SMCHALLENGE we had a push up challenge yesterday. The person who does the most pushups wins a gift from A Tad Monroe store! Guess who won. Just guess. C'monnnnn guess. I DID I DID I DID! 50 motherlovin pushups. On my toes. Without resting on my knees. We had to send Meg a video proof and my faces were ugly so yeaaaa, you're not seein it unless you're in the challenge group. 

2. I went to bootcamp class today after work, and afterwards I wanted to try a new protein drink that I had been eyeing. It looked like juice, and the inner fatty in me got real excited so I checked out the label and everything looked legit upon first glance. Gluten, dairy, aspartame free, no carbs, 40g protein...Sounds legit right? WRONG. I drank it, and within 45 minutes I felt the most nauseous I've ever felt. My boyfriend came over to hang out and I laid on the couch the whole time while he played with Tiger. I'm just now starting to feel better (midnight) and I drank the damn thing at 7:30. Steer clear of Isopure. 

3. I'm like 99% sure my mother wants me to gain all 60 pounds back. I opened the fridge to find this.

Why yes, that is a 7 layer chocolate cake and a cheesecake. I'M DYIN OVA HEEEEAAHHH. It's for a cookout my mom is going to tomorrow, but I'm just like shit mom, get that mess outta here. Unless you want this to happen..

4. I'm so freakin excited for the Sara Bareilles concert I'm going to. She's been a favorite of mine since forever and I told myself that if she came to a city near me this time, I was buying tickets no questions asked. So that's what I did. 11 days!

5. I'm going shopping this weekend at IKEA for kitchen goodies and other random things I insist that I need! My mom is taking the boyfriend and I and I couldn't be more excited. She's buying us so much to help out and I think she's more excited for me to move out than I am..awkward. I have a serious obsession with IKEA and I promise most of our tables and other random furniture will be from there. And by from there I mean off of Craigslist, because ain't nobody got money fo' dat.

Have a happy holiday everyone! Let's see if we can manage to not need to be rolled out of parties and strapped onto car roofs from stuffing our faces, shall we? No? That's fine too.

-Crystal

Losing it Tuesday w/ SkinnyMeg

Is it ok that I kind of stole/am joining SkinnyMeg for Losing it Tuesdays? Yes? Ok good. I'm just tryin to join the goodness my friends. Let me live!

So I've had 2 really good workouts in a row and both were unconventional. Yesterday I just didn't want to go anywhere or do anything after coming home. I always feel awful coming home and taking Tiger out, only to put her back in her crate so I try to spend time with her before going to the gym. I know people get mommy guilt with their kids, but uhhh can we chat about dog mom guilt? That shit is real. I feel it in my soul.

Anyways, Tiger was givin all the cuddles so the couch was all like, "nah girl, you don't need to work out, just chill here with me and Tiger.." So I let the couch win for liiiike 2 hours. And then I took my happy ass outside. There's a park right behind my mom's apartment and I was actually pretty excited/nervous to create my own workout and run around like a fool in public where I'm sure at least one person was creepin.. I say that because lord knows I'd be creepin on someone workin out in public.

Also good news, this video I posted on Instagram apparently plays on here? So that's exciting stuff. My workout was a killer and I survived the awkwardness of running around AND recording myself. Hot damn I'm on a roll suckas. Of course mid workout, some nice man brings his dogs and lets them run around off leash, so of course the dogs take my sprinting as an invitation to play. You know I love me some doggies, so I had to take a quick break to give them some lovin. I would've taken a picture, but the man didn't speak good English so I'm sure "selfie with your dogs" would've started some confusion..

Today's workout was also superb. Again, felt the dog mom guilt so I took her for a walk when I got home instead of hittin the gym. Thank God my mom's apartment has a bomb ass gym so I walked over there after Tiger's walk and busted out leg day.

I apologize for the DREADFUL quality of that image. Showing my novice-ness to blogging. Whatever, it's fine. Anyways, there were 2 teenage girls in the gym making me absolutely self conscious in the gym and it was truly disheartening. They weren't really working out, they were watching me. Of course it was the day I wore my nike pros that happen to show my loose skin when I do squat jumps. And whenever I would pick up a heavy weight, they would look at each other and giggle. Like seriously? What is the deal? Sorry I don't wanna be wimpy with 2 pound weights, and sorry that I'm finally confident enough to wear tiny shorts to the gym. I've lost 60 pounds dammit, BACK UP OFF ME AND MY LITTLE SHORTS AND BIG WEIGHTS. Alright, end rant. I pushed even harder to give them somethin good to talk about, and went on my way. And burned more calories than them. So HA, I win.

Night lady friends!

-Crystal